


on our way there

by poiregourmande



Series: Kelgene, Power Couple Extraordinaire [2]
Category: Buzzfeed (Fandom), Buzzfeed The Try Guys (Web Series), Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Unsolved Sports Conspiracies
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Newlyweds Kelgene, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 17:06:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16179437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poiregourmande/pseuds/poiregourmande
Summary: Open marriage turns into a game of let’s bring cute people in our bed, (because they kinda don’t wanna sleep around without each other anymore) and after they’ve flirted their way through a few of their friends, it’s an open secret in their entourage that they’re always looking for play partners. So when they learn that the two frattest of boys in Buzzfeed history are smashing...





	on our way there

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ElasticElla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/gifts).



On paper, they’re good.

Two gorgeous young professionals, sharing similar values and interests, best friends who have known each other a long time.

In real life? They’re amazing.

Ever since they got married, Kelsey and Eugene’s lives have taken a turn for the better: more fun, purposeful, definitely less lonely. They just click. What made them work as friends is their greatest strength as a married couple: the fact that they understand each other and want the same things out of life.

As soon as they come back to LA they start capitalizing on the marriage. They announce it with a pricey photoshoot – probably more than an annulment would have cost, but no one needs to dwell on that.

Eugene wears a white jumpsuit with a long train and a lace top hat perched jauntily on his head. Kelsey’s in a sharp ivory pantsuit, showing tasteful sideboob, with killer golden stilettos that would make her tower over him if he weren’t wearing the same pair. They pull out all the stops to look their queerest and shut down everyone who’d dare call this a straight marriage.

They make sure to take a picture of a passionate, borderline filthy – cause, hey, it’s them – kiss, to make sure nobody calls this a PR stunt or a beard kind of arrangement.

Why would Eugene need a beard anyway? He’s already out!

Turns out the comments are equal parts _omg congrats_ , _yasss queens_ , and _how dare you not invite me_ from their close friends. Only a few of them are trolls, and Kelsey blocks them.

And then there’s the Try Guys. Zach is wistful – Kelsey knows he’s always had a thing for both her and Eugene – but he spins it as some _last single Try Guy_ bullshit, blah blah blah. Maybe Kelsey can convince Eugene to give him a call one night. He’s cute.

Ned is mad cause Eugene’s stealing his ‘married’ thunder, which, it’s been six years Ned, you don’t have the monopoly on marriage, get over it.

_Are you two even in love?_ he texts Eugene as soon as the announcement goes up on Instagram, going on and on about the sanctity of marriage, and intimacy and Kelsey stops reading halfway, rolling her eyes, because classic Ned.

_We’re on our way there_ , Eugene answers, and Kelsey blushes.

Kelsey Darragh, a blushing bride. Can you imagine? She quickly looks away from Eugene and if he asks she’ll blame it on the wine.

As for Keith, he’s finding the whole thing hilarious – the very idea of making the most out of a drunken Vegas wedding, but also their friends’ reactions. Keith’s chill, exactly what she’d expected.

 

***

 

Weeks pass, filled with more Netflix and PJs than bars and shots, but somehow they don’t miss it.

“I’d rather be bored with you than have the time of my life with anyone else,” Eugene says one night, waiting for her out of the shower to wrap her in a dryer-warm towel. 

“Shit,” Kelsey says, because she was not expecting that.

“Not that I’m bored with you,” he backpedals quickly, mistaking the look on her face for offended.

“I know,” she says, cupping his face. “I love you too.”

 

***

 

Open marriage turns into a game of _let’s bring cute people in our bed_ , (because they kinda don’t wanna sleep around without each other anymore) and after they’ve flirted their way through a few of their friends, it’s an open secret in their entourage that they’re always looking for play partners. 

They have a good few nights with Jazzmyne – Kelsey hooked up with her once years ago, so she knew how hot it could be with Eugene added to the mix.

They have an unexpectedly awesome time with Adam – quiet Adam who actually seeks them out himself when he hears of their reputation. Adam who’s way kinkier than they would have ever thought, and who makes Eugene and Kelsey look at each other like _is this happening?_ more than a few times during. 

They have a sort of mindblowing drunken night with Shane and Sara, one that Eugene only has to _hint_ at if he wants to get Kelsey raring to go. 

Kelsey’s still waiting to mention Zach to Eugene. So far, this has been a game, exploring each other and other people, no feelings, just fun. Zach is too important in their life for them to cheapen it with a quick fuck.

So she waits. She waits until they found their footing as a couple, until they’re ready to do more than just playing around. 

They’re not there yet.

 

***

 

Eugene and Kelsey quickly become what can only be called a power couple. He comes get her at work, and heads turn. People gasp and InstaStory them with the hashtag _relationship goals._ Kelsey never thought she’d ever be #goals for anything, except if your goal is being paid for day drinking your way through viral videos.

“Babe, I’ve got two of your favourite things,” she says one night around dinner. 

“Lemme guess,” Eugene says. “Bourbon and your hot bod?”

“Well, yeah. But no. Gossip and potential new hook-ups.” 

Eugene’s face lights up. “Oh my god, you know me so well.” He refills their wine glasses and leans back in his chair. “Okay I’m ready. Dish.”

“Soooooo...” She stretches the word, delighting in the way he hangs on to her every word – it’s a cute look on him. “Zack Evans came by the office today…” 

“Listening…” Eugene cocks up an eyebrow. Kelsey knew Zack would be his type: cute and bro-ish and probably down for anything under that innocent exterior. 

“Apparently there’s a season two of Unsolved Sports in the works, so he recorded some VO. Boy should learn to lock doors.” 

She grins in an _I’m just sayin’_ kinda way and she knows she’s got his full attention.

“I walk into the VO booth and our dear Zack is fully wrapped around one very flustered Ryan Bergara.”

Eugene almost does a spit take – only his considerable drinking experience explains how he doesn’t spill his entire glass down the front of his crisp white shirt. 

“Are you telling me the two frattest of boys in Buzzfeed history are smashing?” 

“Sure looks like it.” 

“And no one said _no homo_?” 

“Not while I was there. They did ask me to keep it to myself until they’re ready to go public with it, though.” 

“Okay so this is more than just a one time quickie? Think they’re in luuurve?”

“Oh my god, wouldn’t that be so cute though?” 

“And when they said to keep it to yourself…?” Eugene asks with a pointed look. 

“It doesn’t count, you’re my husband!” 

“Oh god is that what all married couples are like?” 

“Pretty much, yeah.” 

“So Ariel and Becky…?” 

“Know every single one of your secrets.” 

“That’s just great.” Eugene downs his glass. 

“You show your butt on the internet all the time, what do you have to hide?” 

“I don’t know, like, unflattering stuff? Dumb shit I say. Old college stories.” 

Kelsey pulls out her phone and holds out a finger at him. “Just a sec babe I need to ask Ariel and Becky to go out to brunch soon.”

Eugene scrambles to seize her phone. He pinches her inside the elbow, where he knows she’s really ticklish. She shrieks and drops her phone in his lap. 

“You fight dirty, Yang.” 

Eugene lets go and she rubs the ticklish spot on her arm until it stops feeling so raw. 

“You love it,” he says, growling.

“Can you believe I’m a Try Wife though? It doesn’t seem real. I mean these girls are _adults_.” 

“Kels, you’re 28.” 

“You know what I mean,” she exclaims, gesturing wildly with her wineglass. “They have their shit together, they have houses, and a budget, and an actual courtship that didn’t take place in a bathroom in Vegas and was longer than twenty minutes.” 

“Kelsey, babe, are you – are you happy with me? I know we didn’t talk a lot about what we wanted out of this, but –” 

Kelsey looks up at him like she’d kinda forgotten he was there. “Fuck, Eugene, I’m so sorry, this isn’t about you. I’m really, so freakin happy with you. I’m just – I’ll always be insecure as hell when I compare myself to other girls. It seems like everyone knows how shit’s supposed to work, while I’m just fucking around until I get lucky and something works out.” 

“You know everyone’s just faking it, right? No one is _really_ that much of an adult.” 

“Except you. You’re perfect.” 

“I have crippling insecurities, don’t act like you’ve never seen me drunk.” 

“Yeah, true.” Kelsey refills both their glasses. 

She plasters a smile on her face and barrels on – things weren’t supposed to become emotional, she’s got a foursome to plan. “So anyway, thoughts on Zack and Ryan?” 

“You mean as a couple?” 

“I mean to play with.” 

A smirk creeps on Eugene’s face. “Do you really have to ask?”

 

***

 

The hard part is getting Zack and Ryan on board. They seem a whole lot less kinky than their other hook-ups, not at all the type to just have a casual foursome with coworkers. 

Not to mention that Ryan looks downright terrified when Kelsey and Eugene visit him at his desk to ask him out for drinks. 

“Terrified and aroused,” Eugene corrects afterwards. 

“Hm. Maybe. You always think everyone’s aroused by you, though.” 

“To be fair, they usually are.”

So, Ryan’s looking from one to the other like a deer caught in headlights and recoils when Kelsey puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Just a double date,” she stage-whispers, “with your new piece.” 

The annoyance is enough to snap Ryan out of his terror. He stands up to lean against his desk, arms crossed to look tougher – and to highlight his guns. Kelsey can feel Eugene leering out the corner of her eye. 

“Have some respect, Kelsey. _New piece_ ,” he grumbles to himself. “Like he’s some sort of accessory, or – or plaything.” 

He shoots them a look that’s clearly meant to be insulting, but Eugene and Kelsey just smirk it off. Yeah, they’re each other’s accessories, playthings, best friends, lovers, wingmen, and that’s why they work. 

“The point is,” Eugene says, slinking his long body down into Ryan’s recently vacated desk chair like in a throne, “just a fun night. Drinks, maybe dinner, who knows… Somewhere out of the way, so you two can be free to… do whatever you want.” 

First layer of subtext, the one Eugene wants Ryan to grasp: they can act like boyfriends without having to come out just yet. 

Second layer of subtext, the one that will become clear to Ryan only later: they can play along with Kelsey and Eugene’s flirting. 

Look, Kelsey’s known Eugene for years, but he always manages to impress her. He can spin anything to anyone and make them think they were into it all along. He should have gone into PR or something. 

Sure enough, Eugene swivels in the chair like a Bond villain, and by the time he faces Ryan again, Ryan’s nodding to himself. 

“It sure would be good to go out without wondering if someone will put it on Instagram. And like, to share this with friends without having to do the big coming out thingy.” 

“So that’s settled! Tomorrow after work, don’t bother taking your car.” 

She kisses his cheek and stiletto-clicks away from him, while Eugene slowly unfolds himself to stand up, taking a second to tower over Ryan. He’s no Shane, but Ryan still gulps as he tilts his head up to look.

 

***

 

No Uber, no Lyft, but a town car waits for them outside the office on Friday. Kelsey can’t get over how extra her husband is – with Shane and Sara all it took was a few craft beers and a wink, steering the convo towards sex, but he knows Ryan and Zack (but mostly Ryan) are gonna need some wooing, so he’s taking out his best woo. 

“Even I didn’t get that when we got married,” she teases. 

“Only the best Vegas bathrooms for you, darling.” 

Zack and Ryan are already impressed when they climb in the car, but that’s nothing compared to their faces when they get to the bar. 

Well, it’s not so much a bar as a speakeasy kind of thing. Eugene leads them to an unmarked door, then up a flight of stairs to an ornate mahogany door. The door alone must cost more than Kelsey’s rent. Eugene knocks a complicated rhythm on the door, is answered a just as complicated series of knocks, then knocks four sharp times. The door creaks open. 

“Yoooooooooo,” Zack whispers in awe. He’s pulling on Ryan’s sleeve as if Ryan could miss any of it.

Kelsey leans in close to their ears. “Just chill,” she murmurs, even though she’s freaking out inside. A few months with Eugene didn’t make her blasé about that sort of things, but just a bit more used to it. She smirks in satisfaction as she notices goosebumps running down the side of both their necks from where she whispered. 

Behind the door is a tall man in a suit with glorious nineteenth-century style muttonchops. “Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Yang, Messrs. Evans and Bergara. My name is Eduardo and I will be your host this evening.” 

Now, Kelsey kept her name when they married, but in this very particular setting, _Mrs. Yang_ sends a thrill down her spine. Ryan and Zack seem just as elated at being expected and called Mister. 

Eduardo guides them to a secluded booth – well, it’s probably more of a room, really.  The whole place seems to be designed with intimacy in mind. Rich tapestries, dark wood, crystal chandeliers, Kelsey has never been in such a fancy place. 

They sit down in plush maroon armchairs around a round table – Eugene in front of Kelsey, with Ryan and Zack on either side – and Eduardo tells them there’s no need to order: he’ll come back with the very drink each of them needs at this particular moment. 

“What kind of spooky divination shit is that?” Zack says when they’re finally alone. 

“It’s not divination. Just an uncanny ability to read people,” Eugene grins enigmatically. 

“Dude, we can’t afford a place like this,” Ryan protests, but Eugene cuts him off with a strategic hand on his bicep. 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

The touch isn’t as intimate as if Eugene had taken his hand, but it’s still probably more contact than these two have ever shared before. Ryan flushes a bit – whether from the touch or the generosity is unclear – and leans back in his chair, nervously tugging at his cuffs. 

“So, boys,” Kelsey says, “you clean up nicely.” 

Eugene had texted them the dress code, but Kelsey hadn’t imagined they’d look this sharp, with well-cut, colorful suits. Zack is in bottle green, and Ryan in steel blue, with neckties and everything. A big change from their usual frat boy looks. 

“Thanks,” Ryan says self-consciously, “we tried.” 

“Although,” Eugene says, reaching over to pop open the button on Zack’s jacket, “you’re supposed to undo it when you sit down.” He winks and smooths down Zack’s lapel, hand lingering on his chest. 

Zack chuckles – on anyone else it would be a nervous one, but Zack is chill and confident enough that it sounds genuine. “Knew I was forgetting something,” and he winks back, looking like he absolutely doesn’t mind Eugene’s hands on him. 

Eduardo comes back with the drinks and Eugene and Kelsey share a glance while the others aren’t looking. He smirks. Things are going well, especially with Zack. And, if they get Zack on board, no doubt Ryan will follow. 

“And for the lady,” Eduardo says, placing a glass before Kelsey, “Veuve Cliquot. Enjoy,” he adds with a flourish before leaving. Bubbly, fancy, a drink for celebration. 

Eugene received scotch on the rocks: timeless, elegant, self-assured. For Zack, a sidecar: classy, sweet, but with a mischievous streak. Ryan, to his obvious surprise, ends up with a rose martini: rose water and rose petals in a traditional martini. 

He looks real unsure about it, but Zack shrugs and goes “it’s pretty, though.” 

“Eduardo doesn’t make mistakes. If this is the cocktail you’re meant to drink, you have to at least try it.” Eugene pushes the glass closer towards Ryan, a look in his eyes like a dare – and Ryan can never resist a dare, like the fratbro he is. 

Ryan takes a deep breath and grips the glass way too strongly for a fancy martini glass, but at least he’s doing it. His face falls as he sets his drink down. 

“That bad, huh?” Zack asks.

“No, it’s actually… good? I’m just really surprised. This is the best drink I’ve ever had.” 

Eugene smirks and leans back in his seat, the human embodiment of the phrase _told you so_. He winks at Kelsey. 

“So, what I’m seeing here,” Kelsey says, as if commenting on Ryan’s horoscope or something, “is that according to Eduardo, you need to be more adventurous, and you might be pleasantly surprised.” 

Ryan’s cheeks redden. “I literally visit haunted houses for a living, how much more adventurous can I get?” 

Eugene runs a lazy finger around the rim of his glass. “I think the rose symbolizes the romantic or sexual part of your life.” 

Ryan’s blush deepen and he takes Zack’s hand over the table. “Again, how is this not enough?” 

“It’s 2018,” Kelsey scoffs. “Gay relationships are hardly novelty.”

“So what then?” 

“Hm. Guess you’ll have to wait and see what life brings you.” 

Zack narrows his eyes at Kelsey and Eugene, and he’s probably starting to catch up. 

“To surprises!” he says, raising his glass. 

Alcohol loosens them, and after a while the fanciness of the place stops being so intimidating and they start sinking more comfortably in their plush chairs, speaking more openly, like lifelong friends. They’ve worked together for years, they’re friendly acquaintances, but they’ve never really had that kind of close friendship where you can just say anything. 

Well, Kelsey says anything to anyone because she’s got no filter, but y’know. 

Tonight, it’s different. 

A few drops dribble down the side of her champagne glass when she drinks, fall down her cleavage, and she can see, like in slow motion, Zack’s gaze following it, tongue mindlessly wetting his lips. Just to see what will happen, she catches the drops with a finger, slowly raising it to her mouth, gently sucking on it. Sure enough, Zack’s eyes keep following her every move, adam’s apple bobbing in his throat, breath quickening. 

Ryan lets out a little cough and the spell is broken. Zack rakes a hand through his hair and looks away, starts a conversation with Eugene about music, or something, and Kelsey turns to Ryan. She raises an eyebrow, maybe a challenge or maybe just wanting to see what he’s thinking. He doesn’t look mad or jealous, but she knows he saw, because he’s pinker than the petals in his drink. 

Her face softens and she gives a gentle smile. Up here, she’s trying to reassure him, put him at ease, make her trust her. Down underneath the table, she’s toeing out of her stiletto to press an insistent foot in the dip of his ankle. He lets out a strangled sound of surprise, but doesn’t move his foot. Presses almost imperceptibly closer. 

Kelsey doesn’t react. The ball is in his court, she doesn’t wanna scare him off – she’s waiting for Ryan to make the next move. Her gaze drifts over to Eugene. He and Zack are leaning into each other, talking so softly she can’t hear them over the smooth jazz music. She can tell if the chairs didn’t have arms Zack would be halfway into Eugene’s lap. 

She flashes a mischievous smirk at Ryan. She knows he was staring too. He looks at her, all open and curious, and she curls her finger to call him closer. He leans in until she can whisper in his ear. 

“Are you jealous?” she asks, keeping her tone playful. 

He looks at them, looks at Kelsey, then looks down at his own lap. “You’d think I would be.”

“But you’re not.” 

Ryan shrugs, gives an embarrassed smile. “I don’t know why.”

“Maybe because you know there’s something here?” 

“Something?” His voice is barely a squeak. Kelsey kinda wants to hear all the sounds he can make, how he looks when he’s flustered, and aroused, and overwhelmed. 

She thumbs his tie knot. “I’m gonna be honest with you, Ryan. Eugene and I want to play with the both of you.” 

Ryan looks like this is what he’d expected, maybe what he’d hoped, but like it’s still catching him off-guard. His eyes widen, his jaw drops slightly, but he nods, taking it in. 

“Does this sound like something you’d be into?” she asks, because he just keeps nodding, quiet and still, except for the foot that wraps around her ankle.

He clears his throat, slowly shakes his thoughts back into place. “Um. Yeah – Zack?” he whispers, looking away like he doesn’t dare admit what he wants before he talks to his boyfriend. 

“Talk to him. Maybe this is the life surprise you were waiting for,” she says, and smears a kiss on the side of his temple. 

“Babe,” she says, standing up and sliding her shoe back on. “Come help me find Eduardo.” 

She doesn’t miss the way both Ryan’s and Zack’s gazes rake up her legs and follow as she sways her hips out of the room. Eugene stands to follow her, and her heart still skips a beat at the way he buttons his jacket as he stands up. Something in the long fingers, the classy habit, the way he smooths his lapels down, pulls her in completely. She drags him in by his necktie and kisses him messily before leaving, pleased by the feeling of Zack and Ryan’s eyes on them. 

Kelsey leads Eugene to a small alcove out of earshot and out of view. She kisses him, hard, before saying what she wanted to say, because the sexual tension is starting to get to her. 

“So, how did it go with Zack?” 

Eugene looks entirely like a satisfied predator who’s got his prey just like where he wants it, hungry grin, dark eyes. 

“He’s so into it. I thought he was gonna sit in my lap at some point.” 

“But did you actually told him what we want?” 

“Not in so many words.”

“That’s fine, I told Ryan. I wanted to get out to give them some time to talk it over. I’m thinking they’re probably a lot more monogamous than Shane and Sara were.” 

“For now,” Eugene says, and he wraps his hands around her hips.

“How long do you think we should leave them?” Kelsey asks into his neck. 

“Long enough to talk. Not long enough that the sexual tension falls.” 

“So like, half a makeout?” 

“Plus getting a bottle at the bar.” 

“Sounds good.” Kelsey grinds their hips together, noticing with a satisfied smirk that he’s just as affected as she is by the situation. 

“Kels,” he groans. “This is more than half a makeout.” 

“Yeah but you love me.”

 

***

 

Kelsey and Eugene come back to the room with a bottle of champagne and glasses. They enter to find Ryan folded into Zack’s lap, furiously making out. 

Whatever they discussed doesn’t seem to have broken them up, at least. 

Ryan scrambles off Zack to sit in the next chair, self-consciously smoothing over his suit, clearing his throat. 

“Having fun?” Kelsey asks, grinning.

“Yeah,” Zack says hoarsely, and Kelsey’s never wanted to wreck him more. 

“Looks comfy,” she says eyeing his lap. “May I?” She sneaks a glance at Ryan to make sure it’s okay, but he’s currently very absorbed in the expert way Eugene’s fingers are working the champagne bottle open. Eugene, of course, puts on a show, gently stroking the bottle, perfectly aware of Ryan’s eyes on him.

Zack leans back in his seat, leaving himself open for Kelsey, eyebrows raised in invitation.

“Knock yourself out,” he says, voice soft and deep and so inviting. 

Kelsey sits sideways into his lap, an arm around his shoulders to steady herself, the other fiddling with his tie. 

“So, did you miss us?” Kelsey asks with a playful wink. 

Zack wraps an arm around her hips, settling his other hand high on her thigh. 

“Mhm. Although Ry and I had a pretty interesting conversation…” 

“Oh yeah?”

“I mean, it’s probably obvious.” Zack pointedly looks down at his fingers playing along the hem of Kelsey’s dress. “But we’re in.”

Kelsey squirms a bit in his lap, and sure enough. “Yeah, it’s obvious,” she says, with a meaningful eyebrow waggle. 

“You’re terrible,” Zack groans, but his grip tightens on her hip and he starts nuzzling at her jaw. 

Kelsey tosses her head back to grant him easy access, relishing in the way Eugene stops pouring champagne and Ryan stops staring at him to look at them. She winks and makes a kissy face at Ryan before Zack turns her face towards him to kiss her. 

God, he’s a great kisser. Right balance of tender and commanding, but you just know he’s having fun with it, he’s having a blast. 

Next time she looks up – because Zack’s kissing a trail down her neck – Eugene is standing behind Ryan’s chair, leaning down to whisper in his ear. He runs his hands up and down Ryan’s chest, and Ryan can do nothing but nod avidly, squirming in his seat. 

“Should we get out of here?” Zack asks, and a crack in his voice betrays his arousal. 

Eugene Cheshire-grins at him. “The door locks.”


End file.
